President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was determined to sign an order partially blocking immigration to the United States as health experts warned that a second US coronavirus wave could be even more destructive.
And the World Health Organisation said there was still a long way to go to defeat the virus, with most countries still in the early stages of dealing with the pandemic.
Trump said his action was being taken “to protect American workers” after 22 million people lost their jobs in the United States alone in the devastating economic backlash sparked by unprecedented measures taken to halt the spread of the virus.
With large swathes of businesses hurt in the crisis and employees forced to stay home or work shorter hours, the United Nations warned that the world is facing “a humanitarian catastrophe” with millions on the brink of starvation.
Nations around the world have been scrambling to fight the pandemic _ which has killed almost 178,000 people and infected more than 2.5 million worldwide — while desperately seeking ways to limit the colossal damage inflicted on the global economy.
“Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.
Worst-hit region Europe saw its death toll climb to another grim milestone of 110,000, while Italy, the hardest hit country behind the United States, saw its fatalities top 25,000.
Spain reported a slight increase for a second day running in the number of people who succumbed to the disease and parliament is expected to extend a strict lockdown.
Singapore extended its confinement for a month to June 1, as the Asian city-state which managed to keep its outbreak in check early on is hit by the onslaught of a second wave of infections.
The director of the US Centers for Disease Control also warned Americans to prepare for a more ferocious second wave.
“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Robert Redfield told the Washington Post.
With businesses shuttered and millions of jobs lost, the world is facing its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it would hit the least privileged the hardest.
